rebels are gaining on. as they move closer to the libyan capital after allied airstrikes helped them retake a several key oil town. the international community now faces a whole host of new challenges as the rebels it supports begin. i'm going to sam in the capital city of tripoli join me in a few moments formal. meanwhile moscow says foreign intervention is a result of these crimes against his own people but criticizes the coalition for recklessness as reports of more civilian deaths are. also in the news this week hundreds of thousands marched on the streets of london in protest of a massive demonstrations also gripped the heart of the e.u.

with many angry at austerity measures at home while money is being found for the intervention in libya. and in japan the operator of the fukushima nuclear plant denies reports that radiation levels there reached ten million times the normal claims are led to the immediate evacuation of emergency workers. as we heard the stories that made headlines this week libyan rebels are advancing west towards the capital tripoli after further gains in the east of the country they claim they've won back control of several strategic oil towns from the forces meanwhile nato is ready to replace the u.s. in leading the coalition's campaign. late as word is

that rebel fighters have taken over the strategically oil important port city of ras lanuf now there is a major oil refinery there as well as a whole lebaran of oil pipelines what we are hearing is that they were able fighters are combing the streets looking for gadhafi as man this one comes off to earlier wins in the towns of the bia and the brig are there we've been told they could duffy's men abandoned their military vehicles and escaped in civilian cars there has almost been a hundred eighty degree turn around in the fighting in the last few days and both the coalition powers as well as the rebel leaders themselves are the first to admit that this is because of the a strikes and by the international community now the takeover is also important because it is the last city that the rebels are reclaiming after this point they will essentially be on the offensive and what we're hearing from the rebels is that they now advancing towards the capital city of tripoli the next major city on the map is the city of sept this is some six

hundred kilometers away from tripoli it is the hometown of the libyan leader moammar gadhafi and it is very much his strong support base so the questions that the international community now needs to grapple with is as the rebel fighters advantage through the westwards and as they clearly are on the offensive and as they clearly need those airstrikes is the international community going to come to their rescue and continue with their involvement this raises very real concerns as we're hearing from the libyan government they are accusing the coalition powers of not actually being independent they say they taking sides and that they prolonging the action on the ground essentially they're accusing the coalition colors of bringing this country to the brink of civil war there are also questions being asked in london for example in terms of whether or not gadhafi is not going to do some kind of revenge tactics and we've been and we're hearing that he might go so far as to duplicate something like the lockerbie incident it's not clear on the ground just how far back his forces have been pushed and just how far back his

military might has been diminished or. this is why people here are suspecting that they could still be counterattacks by his forces in fact we're hearing by some of the residents in some of these towns that the rebel fighters have reclaimed that they are still very much afraid that they could be renewed fighting they also say that they don't trust these rebel fighters that much amongst the libyans who support the death it certainly is not winning support they would much rather the international community remain out of what they say is their own internal affairs among the opposition fighters they are very much aware of the tension between these nato leaders that are currently meeting in brussels the meeting that's underway at the moment is really to discuss whether or not nato will take full control of the whole operation but what we have been told is that from tonight sunday nato will be in command of inforcing the no fly zone and that this will be in place for around three months in terms of broadening the operation here we're hearing dissenting voices from countries like turkey they say it that they want a very limited interpretation in terms of that u.n.

resolution one nine seven three the resolution speaks about protecting civilians and nothing more and that is why nato eaters are having to grapple with the question of just how far they've prepared to go militarily in terms of protecting civilians and opposing gadhafi and his might we are also hearing from rebel leaders that they've been promised weapons from a number of western countries they're not telling us exactly who promised these weapons and whether or not they've been delivered but certainly it is raising alarm bells in the international community because the rebel fighters themselves besides being inexperienced and loosely organized have also shown that in the face of chaos they flee quickly and there is the very real threat that these weapons could land up in the hands of gadhafi as men so a lot of challenges to the international community at the moment a lot of questions being asked just what is its tactics moving forward certainly as we see that the rebel fighters are making everyone says waste words. it is policy reporting there from tripoli while the coalition maintains that colonel qadhafi himself is not a target and promises a quick and decisive campaign but international affairs analyst john laughlin

things the allies are committed to regime change in libya and it won't stop until they bring khadafi down i think they're gravely mistaken and i think that this escapade will end in catastrophic failure and my fear is that the european leaders and the americans who have pushed this attack on libya think that a quick bit of bombing will sort the matter out but in fact i think they will find that it will last far longer than they've gambled for the british prime minister the french president the american administration these people who are so happy to let bombs fly on countries that almost at the drop of a hat they are determined to get the outcome they want which is the overthrow of colonel gadhafi of libya so it will make the task the disagreements and the the discordant voices that are now coming out of both within western states and also in the arab league these will indeed make it very difficult to continue the war but i'm afraid they won't let go now that they've started. and while american bombs

pound libya barack obama says the u.s. quote should not and cannot intervene every time there's a crisis somewhere in the world even so every american president since ronald reagan who also bombed khadafi has weighed in on at least one military conflict christine for us our ports. it's become an unspoken identity the job description. become president of the united states. declare war my fellow americans my fellow citizens for president ronald reagan in one thousand nine hundred six a familiar attack on a familiar enemy despite our repeated warnings gadhafi continued his reckless policy of intimidation is relentless pursuit of terror he counted on america to be passive he counted wrong turns out so did saddam hussein just two hours ago allied air forces began an attack on military targets in iraq in kuwait for his

successor president clinton the target was slobodan milosevic today our armed forces joined our nato allies and air strikes against serbian forces responsible for the brutality in kosovo president george w. bush said it was weapons of mass destruction that threaten the world and invaded iraq in what was supposed to be a quick and limited campaign on my orders coalition forces have begun striking selective targets some military importance to undermine saddam hussein's ability to wage war most thought it would end there with president obama running on an anti-war platform he has spent most of his presidency trying to end the wars started by his predecessor until now the u.n. security council passed a strong resolution that demands an end to the violence against citizens. it authorize the use of force in the timeline of recent history there have been some glaring similarities when it comes to the use of force by u.s.

presidents none have been in response to a military attack or even threat of an attack on u.s. soil and none have ever been formally declared wars we had to protect thousands of innocent people in kosovo from a mounting military offensive we are determined to knock out saddam hussein's nuclear bomb potential we will also destroy his chemical weapons facilities self defense is not only our right it is our duty the definition of duty often changing the result eerily parallel thank you god bless you. god. thank you very much christine r t. russia says that the u.n. backed military intervention in libya is a result of colonel gadhafi as crimes against his own citizens but president to be treatment here therefore so criticized the coalition bombing saying the no fly zone was meant to strengthen peace and that civilians should not be put at risk. just

that everything that's happening in libya is a result of the shameful behavior of its government and the crimes against their own people but we shouldn't forget that everything else is just a consequence of that we supported one of the un security council resolutions and allowed the other resolution to go through this was done consciously to prevent the escalation of violence but still the events that followed show that any decisions of this kind should be accompanied by thorough consultation as well as remembering that the use of force should be proportionate to what is happening the fact that as a result of these actions of indian targets were damaged and according to unconfirmed reports innocent people have died shows that states taking part in the military strikes have achieved i hope that as a result of coordinated actions by the international community there will be peace on libyan soil and full measures will be taken to prevent the conflict from spreading into africa and other states. and the russian the prime minister vladimir putin says he's concerned by the number of civilian deaths in libya he believes

foreign air forces have been rather reckless in their actions. that there is a civil war going on in libya the proposal of a no fly zone was aimed at preventing gadhafi from firing at his opponents and so protect civilians such a decision applied to a sovereign state is a difficult one but the aim was well intentioned but what are we seeing now that airstrikes on the entire territory of the country how can it be aiming to protect civilians such means are chosing to civilian death toll actually rises. and u.s. the defense secretary was in moscow this week calling on the russian leadership to think about joining the military campaign in libya or that moscow abstained from voting on the u.n. resolution which led to the no fly zone enforcement had ruled out getting involved in the coalition bombing robert gates short president who had left that major operations in libya would scale back within just

a few days. it wasn't the only military issue which came up missile defense in europe was also discussed moscow wants an equal partnership in the project saying any other option would be a threat to its own security. promise that russia's concerns are being taken into account. while our extensive online coverage helps to bring you up to date with developments in libya twenty four hours a day you can check out regular updates from our correspondents on the ground on our twitter and facebook pages but also find all the latest videos on our you tube channel.

live from moscow now a quarter of a million protesters took to the streets of london on saturday to voice anger over the government's plan to slash public spending but demonstration against eighty billion pounds worth of cuts was britain's biggest and yes there were hundreds of arrests as parts of the rally did turn violent the windows of some shops and banks were smashed and doused with paint demonstrators argue the proposed measures will destroy essential services jobs cut ministers and sister necessary to interest returns true to herself the u.k.'s outpouring of anger follows a week which saw similar intense protests in brussels as daniel bushell wants. no more layoffs to pay cuts no retirement the message from angry demonstrators pushed back with water cannon and pepper sprayed by riot police the

protesters tried to get through to e.u. leaders meeting in brussels. this where there was made. to be used for social security. not the bank so when you heard. that words was to move to take brand new prisons day goes across europe voters are saying. thirty measures portugal's prime minister quit after paula but voted down a fresh round of cuts the country has three months. left to repay almost ten billion euro at a time when its sovereign credit rating has been caught and you say the only option left is national default tolin does the country called pay back its loans or accept an e.u. bailout similar to greece and ireland it hasn't happened in the west since the second world war but the longer you postpone this necessary evil. the more costly

it is it's going to be at the same time military intervention in libya is costing hundreds of millions of euros many a furious so what they see as an unnecessary and expensive campaign somebody asked the chancellor of the finance minister about the financing of this and i think the overwhelming sense that you got from among the public in britain with skepticism with millions unemployed across europe people losing patience with politicians who seem out of touch with reality increasingly familiar sights on the streets of the e.u. with government built tightening leaves growing numbers out of work the big question is now the right time to spend the money available on wars abroad don't you wish or auty brussels. a european parliament member nigel farage says that people across the continent have every right to feel angry over cuts at home or their governments waste huge amounts of money abroad. we've had british troops on the ground in

afghanistan now for over ten years i don't think there's any appetite for us getting involved in foreign wars where we cannot directly see our own national interest being threatened and where frankly if we go in to support the rebels we don't even know who they are or what they stand for or what they want i don't think anybody has thought this through and if they are going to put ground troops in that i think they're going to find in all the member states involved in this a real strong level of opposition when people see cuts in front line services for whatever reasons when people see their retirement age is going up when people see the taxes both direct and indirect will they're paying going up they have a right to question what on earth are we doing getting involved in an open ended commitment in terms of war with libya that could cost us goodness knows what else i do think we're to a very close but i also feel as portugal is about to topple over as the next

eurozone country really requiring a bailout that that is actually going to cost each british taxpayer about four hundred pounds and that actually the biggest effect on our pockets this week wasn't the chancellor's budget but it was the fact that the portuguese government fell and they're about to be bailed out so i think people have every reason to be pretty angry that they see their own costs at home going up their services being cut and money being thrown overseas in all sorts of projects that they wouldn't necessarily support. you are with r.t. and you'll find more news features and analysis on our website that's r.t. dot com. right now worth waiting for you on the line at the moment a candidate for mayor causes outrage in the u.s. state of florida over his past as a former grand dragon of the ku klux klan. and one of the most elegant sporting contests in the world go i right here to moscow russia's capital takes over the hosting of the figure skating world championship

from earthquake stricken at japan. and two weeks after that disaster hit the country the fallout of the fukushima nuclear plant is still a concern the plant operator tepco has apologized for misreporting a huge radiation spike at the facility it said earlier claims the radiation in the water reactor number two had soared to ten million times the normal level they said that those were a mistake in reporting the news lead to emergency crews being immediately evacuated from the side japan's nuclear agency slammed tepco for making a number of mistakes in dealing with the crisis fukushima's four reactors were damaged of course by the massive tsunami that hit the country earlier this month which led to concerns of a nuclear catastrophe the battle to restore the facilities cooling systems has seen three workers being exposed to dangerous radiation levels artie's either bennett spoke to a man who knows firsthand what the consequences of a meltdown could be. this man has borne the scars of nuclear disaster for most of

his life as a result of nagasaki. he has had liver and kidney problems since he was thirty five and he's already beaten cancer twice every time he falls ill now he feels it could be his last battle. you sure are watches events unfold at fukushima fearing the true nature of the disaster is yet to show itself so you are saying that the result of the contamination won't just end off the event it will be handed down from generation to generation i have four daughters the first to have leukemia another has breast cancer but the results of a disaster will be shown in generations to come. you should know was just eleven when the bomb was dropped he survived the blast but was exposed to lethal levels of radiation on his two trips to the hypocenter first to find his father then to bury

him despite everything he's pro nuclear power but still thinks fleeing from fukushima is the wise thing to do so then the i don't think the public all the governments are overreacting in this situation i think people must take all precautionary measures they can to avoid the worst for the rest of the nygard psyche the stands today and to be built from scratch eleven square kilometers words used to dust the cloud of its tragic past still hangs over the city its residents though know what it means to suffer and are willing to help those in need members of the international volunteer organization the lion's club here collecting for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami everyone's desperate to give with donations already ten times higher than normal. we have a custom something happens in our nation we call it the nation that would help each other especially the people and i guess i am very very sensitive to atomic power so

we are very worried about what happened. and we want to help in any every way it sounded like a sack it is a memorial to the seventy five thousand died when the atomic bomb was dropped here this one marks that exact moment now the city will forever serve as a reminder of the destructive potential of nuclear power and those here now praying that focus shima wherever in the same way nagasaki transformation has been remarkable ground zero is unrecognizable the city would escape any radiation from a meltdown at fukushima but there is a nuclear plant close by and the incident has left residents living in fear. but nothing. people from nagasaki and hiroshima are very sensitive to the incident fukushima we've never experienced such a devastating nuclear accident before and i think everyone is now free this could happen again i wasn't afraid of new can sit ins before but now because i can see

it's not under control. this memorial represents the wall to crave by so many off the explosion the basins tranquility a far cry from the destruction wrought by the tsunami that has done its damage this place reminds us the ripples from a radioactive disaster extends for generations to minutes. and a something. like japan's government has publicly at the plant operators to be more transparent and provide better information about what's going on at fukushima more quickly experts say it's not the first time that facts about nuclear incidents have being intentionally concealed every single case where there have been nuclear accidents in japan and united states in the soviet union. all the places that have had crises with nuclear power the initial response has been to lie and cover up the seriousness of the problem so i don't know why this one would be any different and

i would put zero stock in what official reports are and how serious it is how much radiation has been released what the dangers are the i.a.e.a. has a long long record of being a basically a tool of the nuclear industry in all the countries that have nuclear power the i.a.e.a. has a major flaw which is that as an international body it basically answers to the government's. hold its first ratings and so it's very politically controlled organisation. asian and european and american importers have already banned a number of goods from japan and it fears of contamination and as artie's list of found out panic is spreading faster than of radiation. as japan works overtime to avert a nuclear meltdown is another crisis in the making maybe maybe think twice second

thoughts born of paranoia that radioactive remnants may reach far beyond japan's borders how worried about the seafood may be the seafood is safe from the radiation bomb in the water what i'm going to be very wary of that quite a while it's the fear of japanese imports going all the way to the top u.s. regulators have said they will increase screenings of food coming in from the embattled asian nation the european union has warned members to do the same and italy was the first e.u. nation to ban food imports from japan all together in the wake of the nuclear scare it's fueling suspicion that besides the quake the tsunami and the nuclear crisis japan will soon have to deal with another problem becoming a trade pariah like we will for reasons that may not be entirely radioactive countries all over the world in tough economic times and they still are looking for ways to subsidize their own producers their own workers and so an incident like the one unfolding in japan gives them quite

a good reason to do something that they may have been looking to do anyway this is bad for trade made worse for the country itself if made in japan comes to mean made a nuclear wasteland to consumers in countries like the u.s. we're here in times square and i wanted to come down here because it is where the rubber meets the road as far as advertising in this country and you can really see the brands to play a major role in the united states i wanted to see how many of them are japanese now take a look at this center post of advertising from top to bottom you can see so many c.d.k. toshiba all japanese corporations playing a major role in the u.s. i noticed even our camera and my my clip from my microphone are manufactured by sony and with the nuclear disaster there is no telling what the top. will be on but the manufacturing of companies like that but also their brand presence in countries like the u.s. and this data have the made in japan label that would be concerned about like

televisions components that might carry the radio active materials. as well or and japan's economy will feel it for a long time to if trade suffers a major blow does this drag down an already near zero growth rate in japan if it does then it's going to have bigger effects internal to japan globally and we don't know exactly what those are but they're potentially quite significant significant because in a global economy which made in japan matters for everyone many of the world's cell phones laptops in cars rely on a poxy computer chips or auto parts from the country stoppages in manufacturing and trade consent shock waves through the system likely farther reaching than the radiation itself lauren mr r.t. new york. check out some other international news making headlines this hour. syrian activists are calling for a nationwide arrest with tens of thousands marching across the country troops are

being deployed in the city of latakia to restore calm after twelve people were killed during demonstrations saturday the government blamed for the bloodshed the president is expected to address the nation. and emergency law in place almost fifty years. to palestinian militants have been killed and another was injured by an israeli airstrike in gaza it happened the day after it would agree to a cease fire with israel if attacks on gaza were stopped last week was marked by increasing violence with at least ten people including civilians and children's children killed by israeli attacks. and an ivory coast widely considered to have won the country's disputed presidential elections has rejected the mediator chosen by the african union to steer the country away from civil war. said the candidate had a personal links to incumbent leader. the statement comes after thousands of supporters

are rallied in the capital over one million people have fled the country since the violence began after last november's election. just a few minutes we'll take a look at a u.s. mining technique which is driving whole communities from their homes but first i'll be back to remind you of our top stories after a short break. in

canada and the us today it is legal for you to give a bubble bath on your baby that contains a known carcinogen something that causes cancer most of the sharon things are the most independent. and most of the. cli it's a conflict of interest today an average cancer drug prescription costs nearly one thousand six hundred dollars a month oh my god i'm a nobody with cancer in my five therefore i protect focus because ninety to ninety five percent of cancers occur people with family history of cancer the pharmaceutical industry spends about fourteen percent of their budget on research and development and about thirty one percent for marketing and.